Process for preserving foods



June 1, 1943. o, BENSEL PROCESS FOR IRESERVING FOODS Original Filed July 31, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l Our-31a,

June 1, 1943. D. BENSEL.

PROCESS FOR PRESERVING FOODS Original Filed July 31, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 1, 1943 PROCESS FOR PRESERVING FOODS Duryea Bensel, Los Angeles, Calif assigninto Bensel-Brice Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Original application July 31, 1940, Serial No.

348,872. Divided and this application January 9, 1941, Serial No. 373,787

Claims.

This invention relates generally .to the preserving art, and, more particularly, to the preservation of fresh foods and other perishable products. This application is a divisional application of my copending application No. 348,872, filed July 31, 1940, a continuation of my application No. 270,111, filed April 26, 1939.

An object of this invention is to provide a process which utilizes an inexpensive, lightweight, durable and attractive container in which foods, such as vegetables, fruits, fish, shellfish, meats, or fowl, for example, can be preserved substantially indefinitely without deterioration. At present such foods are preserved by either cold pack, open kettle, or dry pack methods in expensive metal and glass containers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a preserving process in which an inner container directly receiving the'food to be preserved is structurally incapable of retaining its form during the cooking operation, and is confined in a structurally strong outer cooking container in a manner to be efiectively supported thereby against distortion, expansion, or other dimensional or physical change which would cause excessive stretching, rupture or other structural failure of the inner container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a preserving process in which the inner food container is either placed in a carrier container or surrounded by a suitable liner in the cooking tainer enclosed by a carrier containerto form a container to prevent the material of the in er container from sticking to the cookln ainer under the action of heat appliedto e latter for cooking the product. p

With these and other objects in view, the invention resides in the process as set forth in the following specification, claims, and in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of an inner container utilized in the preserving process, and supplied with a fresh food product;

Figure 2 is a. view similar to Figure 1, with the inner container sealed air-tight;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a cooking container with a single inner container pressure-sealed therein;

Figure 4 is a plan view, partly broken away, of a cooking container for handling inner containers in quantity:

Figure 5 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, of the cooking container shown in Figure Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of a modicomplete package.

In carrying the invention into practice, the

product to be preserved is first thoroughly cleaned, out to size if necessary, and may be partially cooked in an open kettle. A suitable amount of the product is then placed in an inner container or bag In as shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive.

This inner container Ill may be constructed of a sheet material such as chlorinated rubber, known commercially as Pliofilm, which is light, flexible, transparent and free from porosity. as well as being sealable by heat and pressure. Other suitable transparent or opaque flexible, impervious materials can be used, of which one is known commercially as Diaphane, a heatsealing paper product, comprising glassine, or, preferably, vegetable parchment rendered impervious by a flexible impregnating coating comprising a wax and/or a resin and a plasticizer. Other suitable flexible, impervious sheet materials may be of several general types such as organic esters of cellulose or cellulose ethers, rendered impervious, if necessary because oi their hygroscopic tendencies, by a suitable flexible coating comprising a wax and/or a resin or a coating composition having latex as a basic ingredient, polyvinyl films, such as the vinyl chloride films known commercially as Koroseal" or Vinylite," or polyamide films, such as the film known commercially as nylon. If the flexible, impervious sheet material is comprised of a base sheet, such as paper, vegetable parchment, glassine, regen erated cellulosic sheeting, or the like, rendered impervious by a flexible, impervious impregnating coating comprising a wax and/or a resin, such as a polyvinyl resin, for example, and a plasticizer, or a coating composition having latex as a basic ingredient, the coating may be applied to one or both sides of the basesheet. If the base sheet is coated on only one side, the inner container I0 is preferably fashioned so that the coated surface of the base sheet becomes the inner surface of the inner container.

The open mouth of the filler inner container i0 is then hermetically sealed by pressure at a temperature of approximately 300 Fahrenheit, preferably with a suitable heat sealing device. Thus the adjacent surfaces of the sealed mouth of the inner container are united by a weld resulting from the heat and pressure of the sealing operation, A single inner container is placed in no is adapted to be secured to the vance o! /8" has been found the food product and air tight by a gasket i Id. The multiple con-- tainer I2 is constructed of a number of cups I'Za. connected at their upper open ends by a flange i217 so as to be rigidly supported and spaced from each other to permit the free circulation of cooking liquid or vapour therebetween. A cover flange In by suitable clamps lid, and a gasket lie is provided to enable the cups to be sealed air and water tight.

' The other type of multiple cooking container I3 is in the form of a relatively deep cup Ila in which several of the inner containers I0 are adapted to be placed in a stack, and to be sealed therein air and water tight by a screw-threaded cover ilb and a gasket ltc'.

When the inner container i0 is made of Pliofllm" or similar material which, when heated, tends to adhere to the cooking container, paper liners l4 (Figures 3, 5 and 6) are interposed between the several inner containers, and a paper separator I! (Figure 6) is interposed between the inner containers l'. and the walls of the multiple cooking container l3. The liners I4 and I! are not necessary when the inner containers are each placed in non-adherent carrier containers before being placed in the cooking vessel or when the inner container I0 is made of flexible, impervious sheet material which is non-adherent to walls of the cooking container. I

It is to be particularly noted that the internal dimensions or the outer cooking containers are only large enough to receive freely the filled and sealed inner containers II. In practice a clearto /4" in length, width and depth suitable. The inner containers, which are not self supporting and are so flexible that they stretch and ultimately burst when subjected to cooking heat and the resulting internal pressure, are thus confined to a limited amount 0! expansion in any direction. The restricted expansion permitted by the closed cooking containers is not suflicient to rupture or weaken the inner containers.

After being sealed air and water tight by its cover and gasket, the cockingcontainer H, l2 or ii is placed in a boiler or retort, such as is now used for the processing of cans and jars, and is subjected to a cooking temperature until the product is thoroughly cooked, following which the container is cooled quickly in'cold circulating water. and the inner containers removed and placed-in structurally strong carrier containers i5 constructed of any suitable rigid cardboard or chip board.

When using the cold pack method, the product is prepared as described above and placed in the inner containers ii in a cold or raw state-with the necessary amount of water and/or seasoning added, as the product may require. The iilled and sealed containers iii are then placed in the cooking container ll, l2, or [3. The cooking container is sealed air and water tight and placed in a suitable boiler or retort for cooking until is thoroughly cooked and The cooking container is then unsealed the complete packages are ready for vacuum, commercially known as dry pack, are placed in the inner containers in and the required vacuum drawn, following which the inner containers are hermetically sealed. The filled and sealed inner containers are placed in the cooking containers, ll, 12, or 13. The cooking containers are then placed in a retort, pressure cooker or boiler, and allowed to remain until the product is sufiiciently cooked, following which the cooking containers are cooled. The inner containers are then removed from the cooking tiontainers and placed in outer carrier containers The metal or oven glass cooking containers can be steam-jacketed for the cooking operation by live steam. An important feature of the process is the dimensional relationship of the cooking containers to the inner containers l0 which permits the product hermetically sealed in the inner containers to be cooked without rupturing the relatively fragile and flexible inner containers, without destroying their flexibility, and often actually increasing their tensile strength. Since the cooking container limits the inner container to a very slight expansion, maximum vapor pressures for the cooking temperature are set up within the inner container. This aids in processing and sterilizing the product.

It should be apparent from the foregoing that in performing theprocess described herein that the inner containers Ill may be made of any suitable flexible, impervious materials and may be placed in the carrier containers l5 either before the inner containers ID are processed in the cooking containers H, II, or i3 or after the inner containers have been so processed, regardless of whether the food product is packed by either the open kettle, cold pack, or dry pack methods. It should be apparent also that the carrier containers may be provided with suitable windows when the inner container II! is of transparent material. Also a suitable overwrap oi' Cellophane or like wrapping material may be applied to the carrier container it when it seems desirable.

The'process described above produces a product which is ideal for heating and serving in the home. It is only necessary to place the inner containers in a vessel of boiling water and permit them to remain for a few minutes, after which the heat may be cut oil from the vessel and the vessel covered. In about ten minutes the hermetically sealed products in the inner containers are thoroughly heated and ready to serve by opening the containers and placing the contents in serving dishes.

The process embodied in this invention produces a product which entirely eliminates the use of can openers and other devices, which, in

many instances, deposit metal particles from the can into its contents during the opening operation, with the attendant danger of causing serious injury ii. such particles of metal are eaten with the food.

'F'oods preserved by this process will retain a more natural flavor with the correct amount of natural juices and apparently retain their vitamin content as well as all other beneficial properties of fresh foods.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that this process is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed but may be modified, either in whole or in part, within the scope of the appended claims to meet the requirements of the particular food products which are to be preserved and the characteristics of the particular materials of which the inner container may be made.

What is claimed is: r

l. The process of preserving food products which comprises the steps of placing the food product in an inner container composed of a flexible base sheet coated .with a flexible, impervious coating; hermetically sealing thefood product in the inner container; placing the filled and sealed inner container in a cooking container, the internal walls of which will confine the inner container against rupture due to expansion of the inner container caused by cooking the contents of said sealed inner container; sealing the cooking container air and water tight; and subjecting the cooking container to temperatures sufilcient to cook the food product within the inner container.

2. The process of preserving food products which comprises the steps of placing the food product in an inner container composed of a flexible base sheet coated with .a flexible, im-

pervious coating; hermetically sealing the food product in the inner container; placing the filled and sealed inner container in a cooking container, the internal walls of which will confine the inner container against rupture due to expension of the inner container caused by cooking the contents of said sealed inner container; sealing the cooking container air and water tight; subjecting the cooking container to temperatures suflicient to cook the food product within the inner container; cooling the cooking container; removing the inner container from the cooking container and then placing the inner container in a carrier container.

3. The process of preserving food products which comprises the steps of placing the food product in an inner container composed of a flexible fibrous base sheet coated with a flexible impervious impregnating coating; hermetically sealing the food product in the inner container;

placing the filled and sealed inner container in a cooking container, the internal walls of which will confine the inner container against rupture due to expansion of the inner container caused the food product in the inner container; placing expansion of the inner container caused by cooking the contents of said sealed inner container; sealing the cooking container air and water tight; subjecting the cooking container to temperatures suflicient to cook the food product within the inner container, cooling the cooking container; removing the inner container from the cooking container and then placing the inner container in a carriercontainer.

5. The process of preserving food products which comprises the steps of placing the food product in an inner container of cellulosic sheeting coated with a flexible, impervious coating; hermetically sealing the food product in the inner container; placing the filled and sealed inner container in a cooking container, the internal walls of which will'confine the inner container against rupture due to expansion of the inner container caused by cooking the contents of said sealed inner container; sealing the cooking container air and water tight; and subjecting the cooking container to temperatures suflicient to cook the food product within the inner container.

DURYEA BENSEL. 

